Michael Kelly Lawler
| died = | placeofburial_label = | placeofburial =Lawler Family Cemetery near Equality, Illinois | placeofbirth =County Kildare, Ireland | placeofdeath =near Shawneetown, Illinois | placeofburial_coordinates = | nickname = | allegiance =United States of America | branch =United States Army (Mexican War) Union Army (Civil War) | serviceyears =1846–48 (U.S. Army) 1861–65 (Union Army) | rank =Brevet Major General | servicenumber = | unit =18th Illinois Infantry | commands =Lawler's Brigade, XIII Corps, Army of the Tennessee | battles =Mexican War American Civil War *Battle of Fort Donelson *Vicksburg Campaign **Battle of Port Gibson **Battle of Champion's Hill **Battle of Big Black River Bridge | awards = | relations = | laterwork =Farmer, merchant }} Michael Kelly Lawler (November 16, 1814 – July 26, 1882) was an officer in the United States Army in both the Mexican War and the Civil War. In the latter conflict, as a brigadier general he commanded a brigade of infantry in the Western Theater and served in several battles. Early life and career Born in County Kildare, Ireland, in 1814, Lawler and his parents, John and Elizabeth Kelly Lawler, moved to the United States and settled initially in Frederick County, Maryland. In 1819, they moved to rural Gallatin County, Illinois. He received an appointment as a captain in the Mexican War and was asked by Governor Thomas Ford to organize a company of riflemen. He served in the campaign to take Matamoros, Tamaulipas. and then returned to his farm in Illinois, where he was residing at the outbreak of the Civil War. He established a thriving mercantile business, dealing in hardware, dry goods, and shoes. He studied law, passed his bar exam, and used his legal license to help the claims of Mexican War veterans.Pitkin, 357. Civil War service In May 1861 he recruited the 18th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment, and was appointed as its first colonel. His time in command of the regiment in Kentucky and Tennessee was controversial and an "ordeal." He was suffered a wound during the Battle of Fort Donelson. In November 1862 he was commissioned as a brigadier general, and commanded a brigade in the Second Division of the XIII Corps. He fought with distinction in the Vicksburg Campaign in 1863. He led his men in the battles of Port Gibson, Champion's Hill, and Big Black River Bridge.wayside marker, Gallatin Historical Society and The Illinois State Historical Society Following the surrender of Jackson, Mississippi, the XIII Corps was split up and divided among other operations in the Western Theater. For the rest of the war, General Lawler served in Louisiana in the Department of the Gulf. In the omnibus promotions at the end of the Civil War, Lawler received a promotion for distinguished service to major general in the Union army backdated from March 13, 1865. Post-bellum and later career After mustering out of the army in 1866, Lawler returned home and resumed his legal practice and farming near Shawneetown, Illinois. He died in the summer 1882 and is buried in the Lawler Family Cemetery near Equality, Illinois. A memorial to Michael K. Lawler stands in Equality, Illinois. He also was honored with a marble bust in Vicksburg National Military Park in Vicksburg, Mississippi. References * Gallatin Historical Society and The Illinois State Historical Society, wayside marker erected 1/1/1970, near the Shawneetown Mall in Shawneetown, Illinois. * Pitkin, William A., "Michael K. Lawler's Ordeal with the Eighteenth Illinois Infantry," Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society (1908–1984), Vol. 58, No. 4 (Winter, 1965), pp. 357–77. Notes External links * Lawler Cemetery at graveyards.com, showing M.K. Lawler monument * Find-a-Grave entry for Michael Kelly Lawler (location given on this page is incorrect) * illinoiscivilwar.org entry for Lawler. Further reading * Crichton, Jane, "Michael Kelly Lawler: A Southern Illinois Mexican War Captain and Civil War General." Thesis. Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University. 1965. * Dorris, Jonathan T., "Michael Kelly Lawler: Mexican and Civil War Officer," Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, Vol. 48, No. 4 (Winter 1955). * Heidler, David Stephen, Heidler, Jeanne T., and Coles, David J., Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: a political, social, and military history, W. W. Norton & Company, 2002, p. 1146, ISBN 039304758X. * Hicken, Victor, Illinois in the Civil War, Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1991. * Lawler's personal papers - Collection at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale; microfilm copy at Illinois State Historical Library Category:1814 births Category:1882 deaths Category:People from Gallatin County, Illinois Category:United States Army officers Category:Union Army generals Category:Irish immigrants to the United States (before 1923) Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States Category:American military personnel of Irish descent Category:People of Illinois in the American Civil War Category:Illinois lawyers Category:People from County Kildare